LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's royal family welcomed a new member Sunday after the wife of the Earl of Wessex gave birth to a daughter during an emergency Caesarian section, Buckingham Palace announced.

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, and her infant daughter were in stable condition after the operation, a palace spokeswoman said.

Her husband, Edward -- the queen's youngest son -- was on an official visit to Mauritius when the birth occurred. He flew home immediately and was expected at Frimley Park Hospital late Sunday.

The child, whose name has not been released, was several weeks premature. She weighed 4 pounds 9 ounces after her birth at 11:32 p.m. Saturday, the spokeswoman said.

The girl is the seventh grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and is eighth in line for the throne.

The 38-year-old countess was admitted Saturday night to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, near her home, but the baby has now been transferred to the neo-natal unit of St. George's Hospital in south London as a precaution.

The countess, who suffered a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy two years ago, would be staying in hospital "for the foreseeable future," the palace said.

Until she fell ill on Saturday, the pregnancy had been progressing well without complications. Royal gynecologist Marcus Setchell had expected to deliver the child early in December.

Prince Edward has commented that he was very "shocked and delighted" at the news. He said Sophie was doing better and that she hadn&#39;t seen her daughter. He said he was rushing off to London to see his new daughter and thanked emergency teams for their help. He said that he hadn&#39;t spoken to The Queen and no name had been chosen.

Prince Edward has commented that he was very "shocked and delighted" at the news. He said Sophie was doing better and that she hadn&#39;t seen her daughter. He said he was rushing off to London to see his new daughter and thanked emergency teams for their help. He said that he hadn&#39;t spoken to The Queen and no name had been chosen.

Thank you A.C.C. ... I can&#39;t believe Sophie hasn&#39;t seen her daughter yet, though? I thought that the always let the mom hold the baby right after birth, either immediately after birth or after cleaning the baby up a bit. Or is that a North American thing? And maybe in Sophie&#39;s case it was different because she had a C-section? But they could&#39;ve at least wheeled the baby over in her basinette so Sophie could see her. :(

Hey, why does everybody vote for Helen? Is there some speciel reason the baby girl should be called so? Some important relative, perhaps? Helena is just one of the names I never, never liked. There are lots and lots of Helenas just of my own age and I was ever so glad, I am not one of them.
But if she will be Helen after all, I shall accept it.&nbsp;

well.....thank you very much Alexandria... :P (just kidding...Helena is only my 2nd name which I use on the boards, my real name is Ghislaine)....but Princess Helena was a very nice lady....

I love the traditional names, in fact if/when I have my own baby girl I have picked out the name Elizabeth Viktoria or Madeleine Elizabeth...but I would love to see a break with traditoial names, not all together, but throw one "odd" name in or something...maybe Emma or something popular in the UK
I would also like to point out to Sara B...(this was posted on another thread, but it dealt with the same thing), Viscount and Lady are titles, not first names, and therefore the Earl and the Countess selecting them is not the same as them announing a name&#33;

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Britain&#39;s Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, arrives at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey, near London, to visit his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, November 9, 2003. Prince Edward flew home from a state visit to Mauritius after the countess gave birth to a daughter by emergency caesarean section a month early on Saturday night. REUTERS/Hugo Philpott

I think succession is still males first, then females.
I can&#39;t believe Sophie hasn&#39;t seen her baby yet. I bet as soon as she&#39;s semi-awake she&#39;s gonna be raising a royal ruckus to go see the wee one :)

Originally posted by Alexandra@Nov 9th, 2003 - 2:52 pm Hey, why does everybody vote for Helen? Is there some speciel reason the baby girl should be called so? Some important relative, perhaps? Helena is just one of the names I never, never liked. There are lots and lots of Helenas just of my own age and I was ever so glad, I am not one of them.
But if she will be Helen after all, I shall accept it. :P

Well, my mother had a c-section, and she had to make complaints to see me, but there was a woman next door who also had a c-section, and she couldn&#39;t see her child or rather, she wasn&#39;t near her child. So this might be a customary thing. But as long as both mother and daughter are doing well, I don&#39;t think there is anything to worry about.